U.S. Pat. No. 4,214,266, incorporated by reference, describes a visual aid system for assisting an operator while maneuvering a vehicle. The system described by the '266 patent includes a closed circuit video system including a distance measuring apparatus. The system enables the operator to see behind the vehicle and, through the use of the distance indicating apparatus, the operator can tell how far the rear of the vehicle is from objects seen via the video system.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,670,935, incorporated by reference, describes a rearview vision system for a vehicle that includes at least one image capture device directed rearwardly with respect to the direction of travel of the vehicle. A display system, e.g., including any of the displays 20, 20′, 20″, or 20′″ schematically illustrated in the '935 patent, provides an image synthesized from output of the image captive device. The display system described at the '935 patent may be contiguous with the forward field of view of the vehicle driver at a focal length that is forward of the vehicle passenger compartment. A plurality of image capture devices may be provided as set forth in the '935 patent and the display system may display a unitary image synthesized from outputs of the image captive devices approximating a rearward-facing view from a single location, such as forward of the vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,559,761, incorporated by reference, discloses an overhead-view display system for a vehicle. The display system disclosed in the '761 patent includes a reference vehicle indicator within an overhead field of view and at least three field of view display segments. Each display segment represents a physical region adjacent the reference vehicle and includes a first indicator adapted to display the existence of another vehicle within the region and the relative distance between the reference vehicle and the other vehicle. In another embodiment disclosed in the '761 patent, each field of view display segment includes a second indicator adapted to represent a direction of change of relative distance between the reference vehicle and the other vehicle, and possibly the vehicle types. Thus, the display system disclosed in the '761 patent communicates information on the vehicle's operating environment to the vehicle operator while attempting to limit a degree of driver distraction. It is desired to have a rearview imaging system that reduces driver distraction further.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,139,412, incorporated by reference, describes a means to create a synthesized “bird's-eye view” of an area surrounding a vehicle. Multiple cameras (CAM1) to (CAM8) are described in the '412 patent for shooting the periphery of a local vehicle as being mounted on the vehicle. When obtained, camera images are synthesized and displayed on a screen of a display device. Pixel data for camera images are described in the '412 patent as constituting a synthesized image that is compensated for, so that differences in the pixel data for adjacent camera images is reduced. In one example described in the '412 patent, the pixel data are corrected so that their values equal the average values of the pixel data for adjacent camera images. It is desired to have a more informative yet easily viewable rearview image that is provided on a display for a vehicle user to view).
U.S. Pat. No. 7,881,496, incorporated by reference, describes a vision system for a vehicle that includes an imaging device having an imaging sensor, a camera microcontroller, a display device having a display element, a display microcontroller, and at least one user input selectively actuable by a user. The imaging device communicates an image signal to the display device via a communication link. The display microcontroller affects the image signal in response to the at least one user input. The camera microcontroller monitors the image signal on the communication link and adjusts a function of the imaging device in response to a detection of the affected image signal. The vision system described in the '496 patent may adjust a display or sensor of the system in conjunction with a distance detecting system. It is desired to have an improved rearview imaging system.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,150,210 describes an image synthesis system for a vehicle to provide the driver with a downward-facing image of the car's 360 degree surrounding view. The system includes: a first camera, which is used to shoot a first image of the periphery of the vehicle; a second camera, which is used to shoot a second image of the periphery of the vehicle, wherein the second image and the first image have an overlap region. An image processing device disclosed in the '210 patent includes a defining component and a synthesis component, which is used to synthesize the first image and the second image and output a third image. A display device is used to display the third image. It is desired to have a system that manages object synthesis in overlapping regions so that objects are not distorted.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,734,896 and U.S. Pat. No. 7,714,887, which are incorporated by reference, describe an image processor which is programmed to generate a natural synthesized image from camera images taken with a plurality of cameras capturing the surroundings of a vehicle. A parameter storage section stores a plurality of image synthesis parameter groups representing the correspondence between the camera images and the synthesized image and having different spatial or temporal resolution relations. A parameter selection section selects the image synthesis parameter group according to the output of a vehicle motion detection section for detecting the motion of the vehicle such as the driving speed and direction. An image synthesis section generates the synthesized image from the camera images according to the selected image synthesis parameter group.